Philadelphia leapfrogs New England in standings with 3-0 win

The Philadelphia Union eased past the New England Revolution 3-0 on a muggy afternoon at Talen Energy Stadium on Sunday.

C.J. Sapong opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the fourth minute after his cross from the left flank was batted down by the hand of New England's Benjamin Angoua. The Union's leading scorer blasted his attempt into the roof of the net past Cody Cropper to give his team an early 1-0 lead.

Cropper was called into action again minutes later to thwart Fabrice-Jean Picault's close-range effort after his long run down the left flank.

New England's best early chance came in the 12th minute from Kei Kamara, who latched onto a Teal Bunbury pass and fired a right-footed shot from 10 yards away that Andre Blake did well to save.

Kamara was involved in a scary moment in the 28th minute, as he attempted a scissor kick on a pass lofted into the Philadelphia area and grazed the head of defender Oguchi Onyewu with his boot. Onyewu was able to carry on after being tended to by the Union medical staff.

The hosts struck quickly again to start the second half, with Ilsinho smashing a first-time volley past Cropper after he'd been picked out on a darting run into the area by Picault.

Cropper's busy day continued in the Revolution goal, when Sapong drew the New England keeper off his line and cut the ball back to Ilsinho, who somehow missed a wide open goal with the chance to put the Union up by three.

However, the third came soon after, as substitute Roland Alberg replaced Ilsinho after a second-half water break and fired his first touch of the match home with a sensational swerving shot from 25 yards out that found the upper-right corner of Cropper's net.

New England wilted with the game well out of reach to allow Philadelphia to jump one spot ahead of them near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.